By Michael Kinney

Transcript Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY — Neither rain, sleet nor snow shall keep a mailman from his appointed rounds.

That is the slogan the U.S. Postal service has used seemingly since the dawn of time. However, after this weekend, Oklahoma Sooner fans may want to co-opt the saying to describe their travels.

With the state getting its first blast of winter weather Thursday, many Sooners fans were in danger of missing seeing eighth-ranked OU take on No. 18 Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship tonight in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. Traveling north was advised against by most weathermen across the Midwest due to the nearly six inches of snowfall and icy roads.

However, those who decided to take a chance and hit the highways Friday were rewarded with sunshine and open roads, if they chose the right path.

“There are four of us, and we are on our way,” said Oklahoma City’s Jim Willet. “Everybody said the same thing. We had already packed our bags. We were ready to go. We were just seeing what the weather and road conditions would be.”

With the Turner Turnpike and Will Rogers Turnpike closed until the late afternoon, that left I-35 North as the best option for Sooner fans to make it to Kansas City.

The more than 400 mile stretch of highway was cleared of ice and snow for much of the way. But what could be seen were several vehicles abandoned in ditches and medians from the night before. But they were outnumbered by the cars, SUVs and trucks sporting OU licenses plates and flags heading to KC.

That included Jeff Manning, who drove down from Oklahoma City in an OU-decorated RV with his entire family and a few friends. And regardless of the what weather conditions were, he wasn’t going to miss the game.

“Ain’t bother me none,” Manning said. “We go everytime they have one. We were not going to let this stop us this time.”

The weather today is forecast to be in the high 30s and travel conditions should be better in the afternoon. With kickoff set for 6 p.m., those OU fans who do decide to travel may find the situation better.

However, those who tempted fate and drove up Friday feel they are carrying a badge of honor with them.

“The weather gave us second thoughts,” Willet said. “But we are Sooner fans. When the sun came out, and we saw the melting, we said ‘heck, let’s go.’ The sun came out and that put a little enthusiasm in us. All the other Sooners need to come up too. And we are going to pull the Sooners through.”